Romance: Detective Romance: A Vicious Affair (Victorian Regency Intrigue 19th England Romance) (Historical Mystery Detective Romance) (94 page)

     Briefly dragging her gaze away from the subject of her keen attention, she beamed at the assembly of family and friends gathered to witness their nuptials that day.

     Her smile shone especially bright the moment she saw Amelia, herself adorned in a charming lilac print calico dress with a lace collar, puffed sleeves and full skirt. A matching floral headband on top of her still bald head completed the adorable look.

     Holding Amelia was a glowing Aunt Grace, herself wearing a puffed sleeved, high collared dress of lavender calico as well as a snide smile; one that just seemed to scream, “I told you so.”

     Finally Amy’s gaze returned to the man of her heart; one dressed resplendent and much in the fashion of a frontier groom.

     Wearing a sleek cotton yoked shirt with a banded collar and stamped metal buttons, along with a black paisley vest with matching jacket and trousers as well as a smart bolo tie, Thomas looked every inch the handsome dashing bridegroom; one who held out his hands to her as she joined him at the altar.

     The couple stared deep into each other’s eyes as their attending pastor—a short, balding gentleman who appeared just a bit out of place at the center of a field but smiled gamely all the same—began to state the classic and conventional vows of matrimony.

     Then, as there was nothing remotely conventional about the two of them and their most peculiar romance, they said vows all their own—because they could.

     “My darling Amy,” Thomas addressed his new wife, tone warm and sincere. “When I ordered myself a mail order bride, I well imagined a woman that reflects your beauty and grace. I never imagined someone of your incredible spirit and amazing intelligence. You are an exquisite human being, Amy, and I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you and Amelia.”

     Amy smiled.

     “My dear Thomas,” she returned, clasping his hands tight between hers. “When I answered your ad for a mail order bride, I was darned and determined not to fall in love with you—and the sole reason I use the word darned, mind you, is because my aunt and daughter are present. Yep, my convictions ran pretty strong. Darned strong, as a matter of fact,” she paused here to acknowledge the laughter of the crowd, adding in a softer, more serious tone, “I never imagined that I could fall in love again; but when a woman meets the perfect man—one who is kind, handsome, intelligent, hardworking, and endlessly loving—what else can she do?”

     “Well, I know what you do,” he told her, adding as he swept his new wife up in his strong arms and pulled her closer to him, “You marry him.”

     Amy thought a moment, then nodded.

     “Well if you insist Cowboy. I’ll do just that,” she assented, adding as she waggled her eyes in something of a playful tease, “As long as you agree to give me one of those kisses for which you really should be famous. Then another. Then another. And if you fancy, you can keep on kissing me, for the rest of our lives.”

     So the deal was made. 

Enough was enough.

     For the past four years, MariAnne Parkinson had counted every day as just another day to survive; a challenge and obstacle that she could only conquer—never savor or truly enjoy.

     It hadn’t always been this way, she reasoned. The first 18 years of her existence had been a time of love and laughter, pleasure and prosperity; a life of light that she had shared with her parents and sisters on the vast expanse of their Texas horse ranch.

     The day after her eighteenth birthday, however, had brought some most unwelcome tidings: the news that she was bound to marry her father’s business associate, Leon Campbell- a man whose dowry would pay the bills that would save their foundering farm.

     “A pretty steep price to pay for my freedom,” she mused, reflecting on the virtual living hell that she endured from day to day.

     Although always pleased to help her family with the rigorous duties that kept their ranch running, she never could embrace the role of ranch hand; and that is the unpaid job title she was given the day after her wedding. Her husband dragged her into his corn field at the break of dawn and commanded her to clear the field of all robust stalks; telling her that she would have no supper until the task reached its rightful completion.

     And even after she met this lofty goal and retired to their modest ranch house, she also found that it was her responsibility to prepare the supper that her husband tried to deny her; feeding him and his crew of surly ranch hands before eating herself.

     “If only that was the most serious complaint I had to lodge against that man,” she thought now, cringing as she contemplated her many miserable nights spent at the home that quickly morphed into a house of dreadful horrors.

     Although she’d never coveted the idea of retiring to bed in the company of the oily, unattractive Leon—a man thirty years her senior—MariAnne at least had hoped that he would be gentle in their lovemaking. Yet the rough, sometimes violent rutting that occurred each night in their bedroom proved just another form of abuse; just another form of dehumanization that threatened to steal her every last ounce of happiness and well-being.

     The birth of her daughter Ellie two years ago had served to introduce some much needed comfort and succor to the agony of her troubled situation. With the dark brown eyes that mirrored her mother’s and the sweetest smile she ever had beheld, this beautiful little ray of sunshine blessed and brightened her mother’s life; her luminescence dimming just a bit every time her resentful father—jealous of the way in which sweet, adorable Ellie commanded his wife’s attentions and consumed her love—screamed at her for the slightest offenses - once for spilling a bit of milk on the kitchen floor.

     When Ellie came to her with tears in her eyes one too many times, MariAnne knew that she had to take action; and with this in mind she charged into the kitchen and confronted her husband—shaking her fist in the face of the man who towered over her with a menacing glare.

     “Now you listen here Leon,” she commanded, adding in the harshest tone she could muster, “For three years now I have done my level best to be a good wife to you; tolerating your horrid treatment day and night, and all for the sake of my family back home. Yet I shall NOT stand by and watch you scream at my daughter—teaching her to fear you, and possibly hate herself. I do not ever want to hear you saying her name with anything but the greatest love.” She paused here, adding as she squared her slender shoulders to proud effect, “Or my name, for that matter. You are my husband, Leon, and Ellie’s father. You are not our master, lord or someone who can boss us around.  You treat your ranch hands with more respect than the people who bear your name, and that is a travesty. It has to stop, and it will stop now.”

     She fell silent then, pinning her husband with a narrow eyed look that brimmed with both hatred and a sense of challenge.

     These same eyes flew open seconds later, as a fuming Leon pulled back his fist and slammed it into her delicate chin; drawing a scream from deep in her throat as she staggered backward, clutching a face that now throbbed with pain.

     “This is what happens to disrespectful wives who disobey their men,” he sneered, adding as he turned away, “And if Ellie ever shows me the same type of attitude, then she is bound to get the same treatment. And that’s a promise.”

     Glaring after him with incensed eyes, MariAnne fought the urge to jump on his back and hit him on the head. She knew all too well, however, that he could overpower her and knock her senseless in a matter of seconds—leaving her daughter alone and defenseless in the company of a madman.

     “I have to make a plan,” she thought, drawing a deep sustaining breath as she nursed her bruised jaw with a gentle hand.

     Over the next month MariAnne seized upon the single viable escape that gave her temporary release from her prison of a home; her weekly unsupervised trips to the market in town. Here she sold eggs for a little bit of extra money that she could call her own; money that her husband intended her to earmark for the purchase of fabric and hair pins—those feminine accessories that would help her look her best for the man she married.

     Yet, instead of spending her meager earnings on yards of floral print calico, she brought the coins home and stowed them away in the gold tinted jewelry box she kept on her dresser; the only wedding gift that had proved to be of any use to her since the beginning of her marriage.

     One night, when her husband left the house with the brash announcement that he would be out late at a downtown saloon and not to bother waiting up for him, MariAnne assured him that she would not and locked the door behind him; gathering a few of her and her daughters’ clothing into a large and retrieving her savings from the jewelry box.

Slipping into a long woolen coat that concealed the fabric of her mint green calico dress, she grabbed a second coat for her daughter and took their bag firm in her hand.

Finally she ventured to Ellie’s room and took her by the hand; her heart wrenching as her daughter scooped her favorite rag doll up into her arms and lifted her tiny chin to ask her mother, “Where are we going, Mama? Where are you taking Dolly and me?”

     Forcing a smile even as her tension wrought heart pounded in her ears, MariAnne pulled her daughter behind her as she rushed  toward the door.

     “That’s a good question sweetheart,” she told her daughter, adding as she clasped her little hand in hers. “All I know is that, wherever we’re going, it’s bound to be a good sight better than where we are.”

Chapter two

     MariAnne reconsidered these words half an hour later, as she and her daughter shared a hard wooden bench at the center of a hot, dry and overly crowded train station.

     After walking with her daughter down the long dirt road that separated her husband’s sprawling Austin ranch from the bustling downtown area, she had rushed with Ellie through the wooden double doors into the train station; hoping against hope that they would avoid a confrontation with the heathen who, or so he had told her, played poker at a saloon just a mile away.

     “I need passage for two to San Antonio on the next available train,” she told the dour, salt and pepper haired gentleman who worked in the ticket booth.

     The man nodded, quoting her the rate for two tickets in a rote, mechanical tone.

     Leafing through the wad of bills that she withdrew from the depths of her purse, she counted them slowly, one by one; checking the amount three times before letting loose with a frustrated sigh.

     “I’m afraid I’m just a little short,” she said finally, adding as she pinned the now frowning ticket agent with imploring eyes, “Look Sir, my daughter and I simply must leave town on the next train available. And while I can’t reveal the specific reason as to why, I assure you that we are not about to embark on a pleasure trip. It is very important that we….”

     “Next!”

     Silencing her with a single loud word, the ticket agent waved her out of the way as he seared her with a cold eyed glare.

     MariAnne shook her head.

     “Please Sir, I have my 2-year-old daughter with me,” she plead, struggling to steady her voice as a loud, rough sob arose in her throat. “We need to leave here this evening, and I’m just a few dollars short. Please show us mercy…”

     “Next!” the clerk repeated, this time reaching forth from the ticket booth to emphasize his words with a light shove that knocked MariAnne from the line.

     Incensed at this show of blatant disrespect, the scowling woman struck a condemning finger stern in the clerk’s direction.

     “How dare you, Sir! You are not a gentleman,” she accused the stone faced man, adding as she used her free arm to clutch her daughter tight to her side, “I will speak to your employer at this station. Now!”

     Rolling his eyes in the face of her fury, the ticket agent made a vague gesture in the direction of the bench that formed a modest centerpiece for the stifling station.

     “If you wish to continue to make a public spectacle of yourself, Madame, please do so away from my ticket booth,” he demanded, adding as he turned away, “I have to see to my paying customers.”

     It was at that point that an exhausted MariAnne collapsed with her daughter on the surface of the wooden bench that formed the center of the station; clutching a now crying Ellie close to her as they huddled together in a cocoon of pain.

     “Oh, baby girl,” MariAnne muttered, hugging a sobbing Ellie as she continued, “I am so sorry that I had to bring you into a world where people are so cruel to each other. Just know, though, that there are some really good folks out there—like your grandma and grandpa. As soon as we can, dear love, I am going to take you to meet them, as well as your aunts. We are going to a place where people laugh and love each other, where beautiful yellow roses grow and the sky is broad and blue. And I know without a doubt that little Miss Ellie will be the queen of the house.”

     Lulled and comforted by these soft spoken words, Ellie smiled as she leaned her head against her mother’s chest and shut her eyes tight; finally drifting off into a comfy sleep as her mother held her close.

     “Wish I could do the same thing,” she mused, adding as she rubbed her daughter’s back, “Truth be told, though, I have no idea as to where we are going to sleep tonight.” She paused here, adding with a thoughtful frown, “I might have enough money for one night at the inn down the street—but then most of our funds would be depleted, and then where would we go? I can’t even ponder the notion of going back home; it may just be the last thing that Ellie and I ever did. Yet we wouldn’t last long out on the streets, either—not with all the thieves, rustlers and drunks in these parts. I do have a few friends here; but once that husband of mine finds out that I’m gone, the first place he’ll look is at the homes of our friends--and God help them if they make any effort to shield or protect me. He’ll go through them to get to Ellie and me, and then God help us all.”

     MariAnne froze then, a few errant tears descending her own fair skinned cheeks as her entire being suddenly was overcome by a sense of complete and total helplessness.

     For once the ever strong Texas filly had no answers, no energy, and precious little fight to bring to her current situation. For once the undefeatable MariAnne felt prepared to surrender; too weary and frightened to take another step.

     Just then her precious little girl shifted restless in her arms, reminding her of the reason that she should, that she must go on with life; not resting until she found a safe and joyful place for them both to live.

     “One of the two main reasons,” she reminded herself, adding as she sat upright on the bench and straightened her firm spine. “My life matters as well, and I will be dad gum it if I allow that varmint I married to rule and destroy me. We will — somehow.”

     Just then she shut her eyes tight, praying to the Lord above—the one that her parents had taught her to turn to in times of need and challenge—for some small hope of an answer.

     “I just need that second wind, dear Lord—that wind of hope,” she prayed in silence. “Please God—just show me the answer, show me the way, and I swear to you that I will hit the ground running. I will make a wonderful new life for my daughter and me—I just need a good head start.”

     She jumped then as the scrap of thick parchment brushed harsh against her leg; bringing her to attention as she snapped her eyes open and cast a condemning look in the direction of the offending paper.

     “So that’s my answer, dear Lord?” she inquired aloud, sending a narrow eyed quizzical look in the direction of the sky, “A paper cut?”

     Shaking her head from side to side, MariAnne leaned forward to retrieve the piece of paper, which turned out to be that day’s issue of The Ramblin’ Report; a local newspaper filled with a smattering of timely news items, printed amongst a sea of advertisements that supported the publication of the periodical.

     In search of a momentary distraction from her troublesome dilemma, MariAnne opened the newspaper to cast a casual glance at its contents; her gaze drawn immediately to a bold bordered advertisement that boasted a most intriguing headline:

Wanted: Mail Order Bride.

     “Criminy,” she mused, rolling her eyes heavenward. “The Ramblin’ Report has precious few standards when it comes to advertising.”

Just curious—not to mention repelled—enough to read on, she proceeded to peruse the remainder of the ad.

“Let me start by saying that I never envisioned myself placing an advertisement such as this one; one that publically advertises for a bride. Yet at this point I fear that my need is most pressing. I am a deputy sheriff in this area who recently acquired a sizeable ranch by way of inheritance, and I need a pair of helping hands to work my land and help me succeed. Furthermore I would far prefer that this pair of hands be soft and feminine—while still belonging to a woman of spirit, a true pioneer.”

     MariAnne nodded.

     “Mmmm, sounds most familiar,” she mused, adding as she inclined her head in a show of keen curiosity, “Yet I must inquire this. If—and this is a most significant if—I were to respond to this ad, what would this gentleman have to offer me?”

     Just curious enough to read further, she shifted on the surface of the bench as she read the remainder of the advertisement.

     “You may be pondering as to why you should even consider responding to this most unique request,” the ad read.

     “Indeed,” MariAnne confirmed, eyebrows arched. “Do tell.”

     “Well let me tell you as to why you should consider assuming the role of my worshipped mail order bride,” the advertisement continued. “First of all, as indicated, you will be worshipped in my care and company. I never shall treat you as a ranch hand on my property. I would wish for us to toil side by side, sharing equally in the work and the responsibility of tending our land while also reaping its fruits. And when we retire at night to my beautiful new ranch house, I promise to treat you as a princess in her palace; to love and honor you, as our vows would state.”

     “Please do not keep me waiting, my princess,” the ad continued, finishing with the name and address of the gentleman placing the ad.

“Clayton Townsend,” MariAnne read aloud, shaking her head in shock as she immediately recognized the name of the gentleman who had placed the advertisement.

     “And from what I have gathered, he is indeed a gentleman,” she mused, adding as she stroked her chin to thoughtful effect. “A deputy who has established a stellar representation as a law keeper in this area. I have heard that he has a particular soft spot for women and children; truth be told I had been thinking of seeking him out in town, to talk to him about the way that Ellie and I were being treated at home.”

     Although she had no desire to be anyone’s bride, particularly in light of her current experience, she wondered if Clayton would be willing to take her in and at least provide temporary shelter for her and her daughter.

     “I guess there’s only one good way to find out,” she mused, standing from the bench with Ellie in her arms as she collected her luggage and headed for the door.